Track and Field Competes at Corsair Invitational

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – It was another successful Saturday for the track and field teams as the men's team placed 3rd and the women's team 7th at the 2012 UMass Dartmouth Corsair Invitational.

The women's team got Saturday's meet off to a solid start as Nicole Aube (Westfield, Mass.) finished in 15th place with a final mark of 27-05.25 feet in the shot put. Chrissy Soares-Fernandes (Brockton, Mass.) was right behind her in 16th place with a toss of 27-00.50 feet. Kaity Merrikin (East Bridgewater, Mass.) also finished in the top-20 as she recorded a final distance of 25-02.75 feet.

Brittany Moore recorded a 10th place finish in the discus throw with her career-best of 96-09 feet. Aube finished in 13th place in the event with a throw of 80-05 feet. The hammer throw saw junior Anitra Kloczewiak (Newton, Mass.) lead the way for the Beacons as she posted an 11th place finish (103-60 ft).

Fatima Konteh (Lewis Center, Ohio) was the lone competitor in the long jump and finished in 10th place with her final jump of 13-11.75 feet. Alessandra Fiallos (Derby, Conn.) also finished in the top-10 in the high jump with a leap of 4-05.00 feet.

For another Saturday Jacqueline Conway (East Longmeadow, Mass.) continued to add to her already record setting height in the pole vault. This time the junior recorded a program first 8-00.00 feet which in doing so qualified her for NEICAAA outdoor track and field championship meet.

Moving into the track events Fiallos led the way for UMass in the 100 meter hurdles as she finished in sixth place with a time of 17.85 seconds. Samara Faustin (Boston, Mass.) also qualified for the NEICAAA championship meet in the 100 meter dash as she recorded a second place finish with a time of 12.73 seconds.

Ari Leao (New Bedford, Mass.) took first in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:01.40, which earned the Beacons 10 more points to add to their already climbing total. Mari Littleton crossed the finish line in ninth place in the 800 meter run (2:37.57), while Faustin returned to the track to take third in the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.95 seconds.

On the men's side of Saturday's meet Lenford Coote (Brooklyn, N.Y.) started things off in the shot put and in the discus throw. In the shot, Coote finished in 26th place (30-06.50 ft), while in the discus he took 25th place (78-05). Kirby Cole posted a 13th place finish in the javelin with a throw of 135-04 feet.

The long jump saw Henry Morales (Chelsea, Mass.) and Tylor Hart (Newton, Mass.) finish in the top-6. Morales jump of 20-11.75 feet earned him third place, while Hart finished in sixth place with jump of 18-08.50 feet. Freshman Kebba Nasso (Attleboro, Mass.) took fifth in the triple jump with a final mark of 42-08.25 feet, followed by Hamza Abdul (Chelsea, Mass.) who finished in sixth place with a distance of 42-05.25 feet.

Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) leap his way to a first place finish in the high jump with a program record height of 6-06.75 feet. That height also qualified him for the NEICAAA championship meet, along with Hart who finished in second place in the event with his height of 6-04.75 feet.

Norbert Simon (Chelsea, Mass.) led the Beacons in the meter dash with a time of 11.69 seconds to break into the top-15. Xhulio Uruci (Newton, Mass.) nabbed fourth place in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:07.46. Nasso notched another first place time in the 400 meter dash as he crossed the finish line in 49.32 seconds. Morales was behind him in third with a time of 50.37 seconds, followed by Brandon Couloute (Shelton, Mass.) in 14th with a time of 53.94 seconds.

Jake Kerin (Quincy, Mass.) finished in eighth place in the 800 meter run with his time of 2:00.70. Uruci finished the event in 11th place with a time of 2:02.45.

In the 400 meter hurdles Andre Malcolm (Cambridge, Mass.) recorded a time of 1:00.63 to finish in seventh place. Nasso would later record his second first place finish this time in the 200 meter dash. The freshman sprinter closed out the heat with a time of 22.71 seconds. Morales posted a second place finish in the event with a time of 22.83 seconds to lead the Beacons.

Once in the relay events, UMass would sprint their way to three program records. After the women's team earned a fourth place finish with a time of 1:54.84, the men's 4x200 team would set the program record and finish in first place with a time of 1:31.54. Both teams would compete for the first time in the 1,600 meter spring relay on Saturday. The women's team earned fifth (4:41.93), while the men's team took second (3:38.19).

Track and Field returns to action next Saturday when they compete at the Northeastern University Solomon Invitational.